Chew on This !

Thought Provoker

  Every child has talent.  Part of our job is to find it, tap into it and help it develop.  Often, knowing little details about our students can change our relationships with them for the better and enable us to reach some that we think are unreachable.

   Check out our website for the famous dropouts - someone believed in them even though they may not have been good students.  Someone found a way to motivate them and tap into their gifts however annoying or unconventional they may have been.

   We must find a way to connect.  For some, the gifts are readily apparent.  For others it seems that we must dig very deep.  In the end it will be worth the effort to these kids and to the society to which they contribute.

Mighty Morsels

Teaching Tidbits

Use creative approaches to involve parents in their children's education.  Some teachers enable parents to be involved in their children’s education by posting assignments for the week on the internet.  That way parents not only know what assignment the child has, but also exactly what he or she is supposed to do, and when it is due.  Some teachers give assignments that offer the opportunity to do an interview or some other kind of interaction with a family member. Another way might be to have a comment section on the homework sheet for a family member to sign and make comments about what was learned.

Plan classroom instruction that accommodates individual differences. Keep the various intelligences in mind when planning lessons:

1. Logical-Mathematical Intelligence--is the ability to detect patterns, reason deductively and think logically. This intelligence is most often associated with scientific and mathematical thinking.

1. Linguistic Intelligence—is the mastery of language. This intelligence includes the ability to effectively manipulate language to express oneself rhetorically or poetically. It also allows one to use language as a means to remember information.

2. Spatial Intelligence—is  the ability to manipulate and create mental images to solve problems.

3. Musical Intelligence--is the ability to recognize and compose musical pitches, tones, and rhythms.

4. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence--is the ability to use one's mental abilities to coordinate one's own bodily movements. This intelligence challenges the popular belief that mental and physical activity are unrelated.

5.  Interpersonal Intelligence--includes interpersonal feelings and intentions of others

6.  Intrapersonal intelligences--the ability to understand one's own feelings and motivations.